


Fractured

by JustWatchMeFly



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), Spider-Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Adoption, Aged-Up Peter Parker, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, BAMF Pepper Potts, Endgame did NOT Happen, F/M, Family Feels, Family Issues, Fix-It, Flash Thompson Redemption, Implied/Referenced Domestic Violence, It causes problems, Long Lost Family, Original Character(s), Pepper Potts deserves the world, Peter Parker is a Little Shit, Peter works at Stark Industries, Platonic Soulmates, Protective Tony Stark, Secret Identity, Soulmarks, Soulmate AU, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-19
Updated: 2020-09-23
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:28:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,414
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26551366
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustWatchMeFly/pseuds/JustWatchMeFly
Summary: Tony and Pepper are finally settling down to have a family when some shocking news turns their world upside down. Pregnant with their first child, neither of them are ready for the change this news brings. Can they survive the trials of being thrown into something they never expected or will this be what breaks them?Meanwhile, Peter Parker is trying to live his best life but finds the ache of being alone hard to bear. He still hasn't found either of his soulmates and watching his friends and family with theirs is growing bittersweet as he struggles with the idea of never finding his. But is he truly ready for what he'll find when his soulmate does come along or will finding what he's always wanted become his biggest nightmare?None of them are prepared for Rosalind, the girl that brings more questions than answers. Just trying to survive from one day to the next, she has long lost hope of anything better than the abusive home she shares with her uncle. Can she ever learn to trust that people have anything but bad intentions towards her or will the fear of opening up keep her from finding something real?AKA The universe is never kind to Tony and his family but they always find a way to make it through.
Relationships: Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Peter Parker/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 10





	1. Nameless

* * *

" **When deep down in the core of your being you believe that your soulmate exists, there is no limit to the ways he or she can enter your life."**

**– Arielle Ford**

* * *

The sky was getting dark, streaks of pinkish-orange fading by the minute as the dirty street lights flickered on. The leg braces creaked in rhythm with the thump of the cane on the sidewalk as the girl made her way to the house that was just as worn down looking as the street sign on the corner.

Sighing, she looked at the broken porch stairs with resignation. Asking _him_ to fix them was a useless act, nothing that would make it easier for her would be on any sort of priority list. Using the cane she whacked the first step making sure the loose step wouldn't trip her again and then carefully made her way up the steps, hoping that the lack of lights on in the house meant it was empty.

Opening the creaky front door, she glanced around and felt a weight leave her at the empty front room. The audible growl from her stomach made her wince as she started towards the dingy kitchen with the intent of seeing if there was enough food to make dinner.

"You're late."

Freezing at the sound of _his_ voice, she blinked as he flipped on the kitchen lights.

Standing in the corner glaring at her, he crossed his arms as he said, " I thought I told you to be back by six, it's almost eight."

Shrinking back she shook her head, "I tried to hurry but twelve guys showed up instead of four, and then I had to walk back because my subway pass ran out of money and I was exhausted after healing all of them."

Taking a step forward he scoffed, "Look, that's not my problem. The deal is you heal my guys, I stay in the boss's good graces, and then you have a place to stay. The least you could do is follow my rules."

She needed the braces to walk, her healing powers had never worked when she tried to fix her legs, the inability to move feet like everyone else kept her stuck here with him instead of running and not looking back. Wishing not for the first time that she hated him more than she feared him, she looked down.

"I'm sorry, it's just not easy to get back on time when I have to walk," she said, gritting her teeth, "If I had braces that weren't older than I was and falling apart then it might not be a problem," she said as she motioned to the chipped leg braces with barely concealed venom.

Narrowing his eyes, he said, "I know you're giving me lip, not unless you want it to bleed. None of those guys were hurt bad enough to exhaust you, so quit complaining and don't piss me off by being late again tomorrow."

Anger washed over her as she met his gaze, looking at her like she was a stain on the floor.

"You don't have to feel it, I need at least three days to recover from this one. Three of those guys were about to OD, I'm going to be feeling it for a while," she said, the after-effects of whatever drug they had been hopped up on making her bolder than she normally was. This time she didn't back away as he got closer.

Growling at her, he said, "You will do what I tell you to, or you're going to feel something else, do you understand me?"

Shaking, but not moving she said, "I can't do it, I...I won't!"

Darting forward he grabbed her arm and squeezed it hard until she let out a pained groan.

"Ungrateful bitch, you are nothing without me! Unless you want to be out on your ass, you'll do what I've said," he hissed, spittle hitting her in the face as he pulled her closer to him.

Balance unsteady now, she tried to back away but he wouldn't let her.

Eyes wide and fearful she said, "I'm sorry! Please, I'll try to be ready by tomorrow night but I need a day to recharge."

Shaking his head, he gripped her wrist sharply.

"That's not good enough," he said, smiling darkly as she cried out.

Shoving her back harshly, he left the kitchen and she gasped as the small of her back hit the broken corner of the kitchen counter. Pain shot up her back, her legs folding under her as she fell to the dirty linoleum floor, the jagged wooden corner of the counter scraping her back as she fell. Vaguely registering the slam of the front door, she slowly reached a hand to touch her back and blinked at the blood on it when she pulled it back.

Trying to get up, she realized with mounting horror that she couldn't. Feeling herself grow faint, she quickly reached in her pocket for the burner phone she had swiped from him last week and dialed 9-1-1.

"Hello, 9-1-1 what's your emergency?"

"I...I can't feel my legs," she said, pain starting to fade as shock began to set in.

"Okay, what is your location? I'm going to send an ambulance," the calm voice asked.

"457 Yancy St," she said, feeling dizzy as she looked at her blood coated hand.

"I'm dispatching someone right now. Can you tell me what happened?"

Turning her hand over in her lap, she tilted her head, the thought that blood never looked like this on TV entering her mind.

"Blood looks funny on your hands, I've never seen this much of it," she murmured, seeing it start to pool around her.

"Miss, there is someone very close. Keep talking to me, tell me where the blood is coming from."

"Please hurry, before he comes back," she managed to say, before passing out from the pain.

* * *

Watching her was second nature, Pepper Potts had a way of commanding a room with understated grace, and Tony couldn't help smiling as he watched his wife talk animatedly with the interviewer. She had always been so good with things like this, while he preferred to give a shocking sound bite here and there just to get the press off his back. But upon her insistence, they were giving an interview today.

Sliding in next to her on the couch, he leaned close and whispered, "Why did I agree to this again? I'd much rather just spend the day with you. Besides, that kid doesn't look old enough to have hit puberty, are you sure he's qualified?"

Shaking her head and leaning into his touch, Pepper whispered back even softer, "Because, we've been avoiding this for years and if we do this now then it will be easier to avoid them later. And yes, Andrew is one of the younger reporters at the Sun but I figured it would be better than giving in to the Bugle."

Knowing she was right as usual, he rolled his eyes and returned his attention to the squirrely kid sitting across from them.

Clicking his recorder on, Andrew said, "So Tony, how is it that you can forget what your soulmate is allergic to when it's been tattooed on your arm since birth? Maybe that genius label is a bit overstated."

Tony bit back a grimace, he was the only one allowed to be a cocky ass in this tower and this gangly weasel of a reporter wasn't making a great first impression even if he was trying to break the ice by an attempt at being funny.

Turning slightly Pepper gave him a look, silently convincing him to just let it go as she grabbed his forearm where the cluster of strawberries curled around his arm. Sighing dramatically he placed a hand on her shoulder, right on top of the stylized bear tattoo that was just visible through the transparent material of the shirt she wore.

"Yes, on more than one occasion," Pepper said, trying not to smile as she squeezed his arm for a second, "but then again I didn't put the irony of my soulmark together until there was a twenty-foot teddy bear in our living room so I guess we all have our moments."

Clearing his throat, Andrew sensed the awkwardness of the moment and quickly moved on to his next question as he asked, "Right, so the two of you tied the knot back in 2013 but sources say you realized there was a soulmate bond between you much further back, is that right?"

Trying his best not to tune out completely at the same old questions, Tony nudged Pepper to let her take the lead on this one.

"I started having the dreams a few weeks after Tony hired me, but I didn't realize they were soulmate dreams until he had been kidnapped. I thought they were your general stress dreams one has about a nearly impossible boss," she said, laughing slightly.

Tightening his grip on her shoulder ever so slightly, Tony felt the tension in her shoulders as she recalled how those dreams had been instrumental in the search continuing and eventually being the reason he was found out in the desert. This was all public record, but it always seemed to come up when the two of them were interviewed together, but it was to be expected when the story was as sensational as theirs was.

"Rhodey and I weren't ready to give up on him, and I'm so glad we didn't," Pepper said, glancing over at Tony with a soft smile.

"Speaking of Colonel Rhodes, the two of you have a special friendship don't you," asked Andrew.

Grinning she nodded, "Not many other people could understand what it's like, having to worry about him every time he walks out the door. I couldn't be luckier that Rhodey is Tony's platonic, he's one of my closest friends."

Interjecting, Tony said playfully, "It's not fair really, both of them are always teaming up on me. Buzzkills both of them, absolutely no fun at a party."

"It's got to be an interesting dynamic, what with you all being so close," Andrew said, watching them carefully.

Not liking the gleam in his eyes at all, Tony furrowed his brows as he said, "Never a dull moment when all three of us have literally helped save the world so not sure what you mean."

Gaze turning to Pepper, Andrew said, "Well, losing a platonic soulmate usually creates a divide between romantic soulmates, especially when the other platonic is still in the mix. How has that affected your relationship?"

Feeling Pepper stiffen, Tony started to move to get up—intending to end the interview—but she put her hand on top of his, stopping him.

"We all have things that cause bumps in the road, just like every other pair of soulmates we struggle. But if I've learned anything," Pepper said, pausing to look at Tony, "there's nothing we can't figure out together." Voice thick she continued, "Even the things we can't fix. But ah, why don't we talk about the new non-profit we just set up? I'm sure you want all the details on that."

Tony wondered again how someone so poised and graceful had agreed to marry him, the last time a reporter pushed the topic of his guilt regarding Rhodey being paralyzed, he had them thrown out and banned from coming back. Rubbing her shoulders, he sent the boy a warning glare; he respected Pepper too much to step in when she had handled it so well but one more wrong move...

A more seasoned journalist would pick up on the tone shift, a smarter journalist would know that the last person you would want to push was Pepper Potts, and a journalist that wanted a future in the field would know better than to push someone this powerful on something like the death of a platonic soulmate.

But Andrew was hungry for a scoop that no one had gotten before and he hadn't fought for this interview just to throw away the chance to use the information he'd dug up. People ate up any scrap of news about celebrity soulmates and this was too good to pass up.

Leaning forward he asked, "Of course, but I have to ask…Prior to her death in the invasion, your half-sister was working at a restaurant in a low-income part of Queens. Do you think Charlotte's death could have been prevented if you hadn't been so busy with running Stark Industries and had been closer with her?"

The silence that followed was thick and tense, Pepper's hand finding its way to the now faded and grey ribbon on the inside of her left wrist that was once a vibrant blue.

"I...how did you…"

Furious to the point of smiling, Tony stood immediately as he said, "Right, so this interview is over now. I'll be in touch with your boss, time to go. Friday, if you could send this asshole to the lobby and let the front desk know he is banned from coming back that would be great, thanks."

Putting a hand up to keep the flustered boy from saying another word, Tony said, "Don't, I know what a fuck up looks like and this is definitely it. Just go and hope I don't decide to ruin you."

Watching him leave, Tony was back on the couch with his arms around Pepper the moment the elevator doors closed.

Tears running down her face, Pepper put a hand to her face as she said, "I should have bee—

Cutting her off and pulling her closer, Tony murmured, "Don't you dare do that, we've been through this. It is not your fault, she wouldn't want you blaming yourself."

Swallowing thickly, she looked up at him.

"I know, I just...I miss her more than I can say. Charlie insisted on doing things on her own after the hearing, I should have pushed her to let me help, but she said me paying for the lawyer was already too much."

Shifting he moved a hand to wipe the tears from her face; he could only imagine the pain she felt.

Sniffling, she blinked away another round of tears as she said, "And my god Tony, little Roz would be looking for colleges by now. She was so bright and full of hope, you would have loved her."

Frowning he simply stroked the back of her head, knowing there was nothing he could say. By the time the two of them had figured out their own issues, it was too late for him to meet the people in the world that meant the most to her.

Shaking her head she looked down as she said, "I should have introduced you, then maybe you would have at least known them."

Smiling softly, he brushed his hand on her face gently.

"Pep, you were doing what you thought was best. And in my experience that is always the right thing, I was a disaster and we were still—I don't even know what we were but it was a mess and you protecting your family from it was the best thing."

Returning his smile with a watery one, she asked, "Now why did it take you so long to figure that out?"

Grinning, Tony leaned down and kissed her forehead.

"Probably because I'm actually right all the time and I'm just humoring you right now."

Rolling her eyes, Pepper pulled away as she stood up, "Well in that case, if you're always right then why don't you tell me what I'm thinking right now?"

Pouting slightly, Tony reached for her again but missed as she stepped away, a barely hidden smile on her face as the sadness started to leave.

"It could be one of two things," he said, eyes sparkling playfully as he stood as well. "You think I'm an idiot." Coming behind her, he circled his arms around her waist, hands coming to rest on her middle gently as he said, "Or you've conceded that it's totally a girl, because I know I'm right."

Leaning into his touch, she couldn't hold back the smile.

"The universe must really like you because I was going to wait until later to tell you but I went ahead and got the bloodwork done so we could know sooner."

Spinning her around in his arms, a shocked expression on his face Tony looked at her in surprise.

"You're shitting me right now, right? It's a girl, really?"

Reminded again of why she loved him so much at the excitement and hope in his eyes, she nodded.

"I got the email from the doctor's office this morning, you were right Tony," breaking out into a grin as she said, "I do think you're an idiot."

Brows scrunching up in confusion he started to say, "What, I thou—

Cutting him off with a kiss, she pulled away for a moment to say, "Yes, it's a girl. Now humor me."

The thrill of pure happiness that went through Tony was the kind of feeling he wished he knew how to make in a lab because it was the best thing in the world. Beaming at her, he pressed kisses all over her face, only smiling wider as she laughed. This, this was where he wanted to live, in this moment, and never have it end.

Pulling her into his arms, he started to move back to the couch intent on doing exactly as she'd instructed.


	2. Precipice

* * *

" **I think we're given multiple chances to meet multiple soulmates. Sure, you could meet a soulmate in high school. But that doesn't mean if you don't act on it, you'll never meet anyone else. You will, just at a time that's more convenient for you." – Meg Cabot**

* * *

Working as a head intern at Stark Industries—actually working as one this time—was everything Peter had ever dreamed of, Tony had given him a lab to run, and finally he was getting to explore his own passions and interests. As soon as he graduated NYU he had a job and May was absolutely thrilled about it all, she might never relax about his second job but this one made her really happy.

Tony wasn't shy about his favoritism and was always asking him to lend a hand on his personal projects, or insisting on a new spider suit update and having him help build it. Peter couldn't really complain, he loved getting to spend time with his mentor and he wouldn't ever turn down a dinner invitation from Pepper, he'd really enjoyed getting to know her over the past year of working at SI. The two of them were like family to him and he finally felt like things were falling into place, a balance he had never found when he was younger.

Peter Parker was on top of the world. Or at least he should be, at twenty he hadn't met either of his soulmates.

Ned had found his during his first semester at MIT, something that Peter was happy about but deep down it had always hurt that Ned hadn't been his platonic when they had immediately been best friends when they were young. MJ had two just like he did, her platonic was a cousin that lived in Virginia. He had hoped maybe they would be each other's romantic, but their high school relationship was fated to have an expiration when neither of them ever started having the dreams while they dated. They still stayed in touch though, MJ would always be a good friend of his. He was expecting a wedding invitation sometime soon, she and her girlfriend Carson were crazy about each other.

Peter had always loved the idea of soulmates and felt extremely lucky that he had two soulmarks, but he couldn't help but feel disheartened that he hadn't found either of them yet when it seemed like everyone around him was finding theirs. Glancing down, he traced the outline of the little firefly that lived on the inside of his right wrist. It was directly under where his web shooters sat, which had always made him wonder if he was meant to meet that one under the mask but so far there hadn't been a magical connection to any of the civilians he had saved as of yet.

Sighing, he brought his mind back to the task at hand.

"Guys, guys c'mon this is just embarrassing," he said, biting back a smile at the three bots Tony had pawned off on him as they all stopped soldering on the circuit board he had them working on.

Getting up from his desk he chuckled as they scattered to different corners of the lab.

"Okay it's not that bad, but I'm going to have to fix these messy connections," he said, already starting to think of how to improve the design on the next model as he enlarged the details on the holo screens and sat at the table.

The project was his first big one that he hoped that SI would pick up if he could render a good prototype, if he was successful it could make cochlear implants a thing of the past and completely change the hearing implant landscape. Originally the idea had come from his desire to block out all sound vibrations so he could sleep back when he had first gotten his powers, back then everything was so overwhelming that even the slightest sound made it hard to think. It had taken a long time to get used to it, but if he hadn't had the early model of vibration blockers that he had developed it was anyone's guess if he would have ever adjusted. Eventually, the design had changed to filter vibrations and not block them, something he still used every night. It was only when Peter had gone to his first SI press conference and noticed the sign language interpreter that the idea came to him that if he could block and filter vibrations then he should be able to amplify them.

Tony had suggested he take a look at using nanotech to see what he could do with it and never one to take an opportunity to impress Tony and waste it, Peter had reworked the entire design to integrate on a cellular level and function as a working ear that could be modulated by the person using the tech to the level of vibrations they wanted. In his presentation he was working on, Peter planned on pitching as something much more than a hearing aid, he saw it reaching far beyond that. PTSD victims that struggled with sound, people on the spectrum that had trouble with auditory overstimulation, the possibilities were endless.

Safe to say this was his biggest project yet and Tony had let him have complete control over it, something Peter suspected was part of Tony's plan to have him never wanting to leave and go work for a different tech company.

"Kid, you got a minute?"

Turning with a smile, Peter waved at Tony.

"Speak of the devil, I was just thinking about you."

Smirking, Tony made his way into the lab as he said, "What can I say, it's hard not to be thinking about me."

Rolling his eyes, Peter spun the chair he was sitting around and shook his head.

"Yeah, when you've got a boss who's as much of a headache as you are it's hard not to."

Snorting, Tony leaned on the edge of one of the desks as he said, "May is such a bad influence, that typical Parker attitude."

Noticing how happy he seemed, Peter raised a brow, trying to figure out what was different.

"You're in a good mood, you get your roots touched up? Not seeing those greys anymore, looking good boss."

Shaking his head, Tony looked down to hide his grin.

"You're a little shit and I know May didn't teach you that. Guess you don't want to hear my news then," he said, an amused smile on his face, not rising to the jab like he usually did.

Feigning indifference, Peter shrugged, "Ah well, you know I'm really busy so…"

Breaking after a second, Peter started laughing at the fond exasperated look Tony was giving him as he said, "Couldn't help it, tell me what's going on."

"Well now I'm not sure you deserve to know," he said, eyeing for a second before saying, "but I figured I would tell you before you saw it in the news. We're having a kid, me and Pepper."

As much as Tony could try and act nonchalant about it, Peter could see how excited he was. It wasn't often that he looked that happy and it was clear he was just about bursting at the seams with it.

Grinning, Peter stood and gave his mentor a hug before he could protest it.

"Tony that's amazing! I'm really happy for you guys," he said, pulling away after a moment.

"Yeah, well we're pretty excited about it. We were going to announce it in that interview we did the other day but the dumbass reporter they sent screwed the pooch on that one so I had someone in PR leak to a different paper. It'll be everywhere this time tomorrow," Tony said, eyes narrowing at the thought of how upset Pepper had been after the interview.

Seeing it, Peter asked, "What happened? Got to be a pretty stupid person to mess up an interview with the two of you."

"You have no idea, little weasel had done his homework on Pep and was asking questions he had no business asking," he said, ire rising as he remembered the greedy look in the reporters eyes.

Seeing Peter's curiosity but knowing he wouldn't ask, Tony went on, "It's not really public knowledge but she lost her platonic in the invasion, her half-sister Charlotte. They were really close as kids but drifted a bit when they were older and then once she started working for me I think they saw each other less and less."

Seeing the guilt in his eyes, Peter quickly said, "You know that's not your fault right?"

Shaking his head, Tony wondered again how the kid always knew what to say. He'd really grown up over the past few years and had only proven again and again that Tony had been right, Peter was going to be better than them all.

Eyes softening, but not responding to what he'd said, Tony went on, " Yeah well, turns out that Charlotte was just as stubborn as Pepper is, guess it runs in the family. Peps wanted her to move closer, to a safer part of town but her sister wouldn't budge, wanted to make her own way after Pep helped her with the divorce."

Peter nodded, it made perfect sense to him. It was hard to accept help and not want to do everything on your own, something that had been hard when he thought back to how much he'd been given. Unwittingly, Tony had taught him a lot about humility and accepting help when you needed it.

"Me and Pepper were going through it, so I never met them. I think she hates that almost as much as she misses them," Tony said, sadness entering his eyes.

Furrowing his brow, Peter asked, "Them?"

"She had a daughter, would have been about your age from what Pepper said. Both of them died in the invasion," Tony said softly, again wishing there was something he could do to change the past.

"Wow, that's really awful. Is she okay, Pepper I mean? I can't really imagine how that's got to feel, "Peter said, hand going to his wrist again as he traced the soulmark softly.

Tony shook his head, "I kicked the reporter out, still on the fence if I'm going to have him fired or not. But yeah, she's okay now it's just always going to hurt and that guy was way over the line."

Brightening, he smiled, "But forget that asshole, we've got a little girl to get ready for."

Eyes widening, Peter looked at him in surprise.

"Whoa, you already know? How long have you, ah how far along is she? I thought that took a while?"

Chuckling, Tony said, "Peps took me by surprise too, she got bloodwork done to find out. I think she's only about twelve weeks right now but I guess she didn't want to wait."

Shaking his head, Peter blinked in a daze.

"That is absolutely terrifying, I'm just picturing you in little girl form. Forget aliens, that kid will conquer the world before she's a teenager."

For a brief second a look of panic flashed in Tony's eyes as the picture Peter painted started to materialize in his mind

"Let's hope she gets more of Pepper than me," he finally said, looking a bit dazed himself now.

Trying not to laugh, Peter nudged him as he said, "You'd be doing the world a favor if there was a bit more of you in it, she's going to be amazing with the two of you for parents. Have you started thinking about names yet?"

Trying his best not to let Peter know how much that had meant to him he nodded, "Ah yeah, there's a few names we've been kicking around but we haven't settled on anything just yet. We both like Morgan, it was Charlotte's middle name and I think it would mean the world to have a little piece of her still here."

"Yeah, I bet it would be really special. Hey, do you think she'll have two soulmarks like both of you do? Statistically, kids of parents with dual marks have a higher chance of it."

"It's possible, there's still so much about it that's unknown," Tony said contemplatively, wondering what kind of soulmarks his daughter would have.

Watching him carefully, Peter swallowed and asked, "Ah, what's it like? Meeting a soulmate I mean."

Surprised at his question, Tony raised a brow.

"It's different depending on which one it is. Do you think you've met one?"

Shaking his head quickly, he said, "No, I was just curious. One of these days, just not yet."

Hearing the tinge of sadness in his voice, Tony patted him on the shoulder as he pushed off the desk.

"If it makes you feel any better I didn't meet Rhodey or Pepper until I was in my thirties, you've got plenty of time kid."

Ignoring Peter's muttered 'old man' remark, Tony just rolled his eyes as Peter settled back into his chair.

Smirking as an idea came to him, Peter said, "Hey, you could always use your middle name, Edwina always had a nice ring to it."

Shoving the rolling chair, Tony shook his head, "You are so full of it, don't be late for the meeting tomorrow Parker."

Laughing as Tony walked out, Peter called after him, "Aw come on, it could be cute!"

* * *

Waiting for Tony was part of life for Pepper, but obviously not for their child as the desire for food overrode her promise to wait for him. Thankfully she hadn't started having any cravings yet, so a simple snack would suffice for now. Today was officially one of the first days off she had taken in months, but Tony had insisted that he wanted to take her out for lunch to celebrate.

The penthouse of the tower wasn't actually where the two of them lived, their suite was a few floors lower but it still had the same amazing view of the city. Gazing out at the skyline, she wondered if they would still be here when the baby came or if they would find someplace quieter like he had mentioned. In the past, he would have never wanted to be anywhere but the middle of all the action, but a lot had changed in the past few years. When Rhodey almost died everything had changed for Tony, she knew just how much losing a soulmate affected you.

That day had been one that could have gone very differently, from how Pepper understood it they had a lot to be thankful for. If Steve had walked away and hadn't run to help when he saw Rhodey go down, then Tony wouldn't have called off his team to listen to what Steve had to say. And if that hadn't happened then Steve might not have come clean about what he knew about Bucky's past, which would have caused irreparable damage to his and Tony's friendship. The two of them wouldn't have been able to renegotiate the Accords and reestablish new oversight that worked for the entire team. Lucky for them that nothing as stupid as male ego and pride had gotten in the way of a peaceful resolution.

At the end of the day it was soulbonds that did it; Tony and Steve both would have gone to the ends of the earth for their soulmates and because of it they ended up saving it together in Wakanda. Things would be very different now if it hadn't been for Rhodey, something he _loved_ reminding them all of, that he was the real savior of the world because he managed to get them to stop being stubborn idiots by almost dying.

Shaking herself out of the thoughts of what could have been, Pepper headed toward the kitchen and grabbed one of the ice cream bars that Tony liked. As she was about halfway finished with it the ding of the elevator broke the silence.

"Sorry I'm late, I stopped by Peter's lab and I...are you eating one of my ice cream bars?"

Turning to look at him, she raised a brow at his question. The audacity this man had really should stop surprising her but here they were.

Putting his hand up in defense, he said, "Because they are totally not flown in from Italy or anything, right so you ready to go get lunch or are you going to get into the Russian chocolate Nat sent us?"

"And here I thought being pregnant meant you would be on your best behavior," she said, shaking her head as she smiled at him.

Coming around the kitchen bar, he said seriously, "I will buy the company that makes them, you know that right? I can have it done by tomorrow night if you want."

Putting a hand on his face she rolled her eyes.

"Do not do that, but I wouldn't mind you keeping these on hand from now on."

Turning his face and kissing her hand, he grinned at her, "Done. Now, do you feel up to going out for lunch?"

Instead of answering him, she leaned forward and pulled him closer, kissing him soundly.

After a moment, she grinned at him. Very pleased with the dazed look on his face as he said, "Okay, ah I am one hundred percent fine staying in. This is better actually."

Wrapping his arms around her he was about to kiss her, only to curse under his breath as her phone started to ring.

"Please let that go to voicemail," he muttered, doing his best to distract her as he started to kiss her neck instead.

Groaning as he felt her reach for her phone he grabbed her hand, hoping to stop her.

"You shouldn't have made me CEO," she said with a laugh as she pulled out of his hold and pushed him off gently.

"It's supposed to be your day off," he said, pouting as she answered the phone.

"Pepper Potts speaking," she said, giving Tony a look of amusement when he started playing with her hair that he had conveniently pulled out of its perfect bun.

Watching her, he felt a chill run down his spine as her countenance changed drastically, her face going pale and eyes wide in shock as her hand came to rest on her middle. Fear ran through him at the thought it could be something to do with their little girl, there was no way the world could be so cruel to take that from them.

After a moment she managed to say, "Are you sure? I...this isn't.."

A beat went by, even more color fading from her face as she nodded, "I'll be there in fifteen minutes, thank you."

Frozen almost, she looked numbly at Tony, her mouth moving but no sound coming out. Anxiety spiking, he put a hand on her shoulder as he tried to stay calm and not think of the billion possible things that could be wrong.

"Pepper, talk to me. What's going on," he said, voice cracking as he hadn't seen her look like this before.

"It was the hospital," she whispered, finally focusing as she met his gaze.

Feeling his breathing start to get tight, Tony struggled to keep his expression from that of unbridled panic as he squeezed her shoulder.

"What is it? Was it about…" he trailed off looking at her middle, hoping to all things that nothing was wrong but already knowing if there was he was going to fight like hell to keep his girls safe.

Shaking her head, she placed a hand on her stomach as she said, " No, no it wasn't the baby. It's something else.

Letting out the breath he hadn't known he'd been holding, Tony felt his heart resume a normal rhythm as he waited for her to go on.

"It was a social worker," she said, eyes growing distant again.

"A social worker? I don't understand," Tony asked, trying to think of why on earth someone like that would call her.

"It's Roz," she said, voice cracking as we went on, "she's alive."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there you have it, our lovable Spiderling all grown up. Or at least a bit older than in the MCU, I wanted to play around with a more confident Peter as he's grown into himself. I've got so much planned for him and I can't wait! Of course, expect lots of moments with Tony because I just love their dynamic to pieces!
> 
> Would love to hear what you think so far or if you have any ideas as to what happens next! Thanks for reading!


	3. Fragile

* * *

**“A soulmate is someone whose way of viewing life is not necessarily the same as yours but complements yours.**

**There is not a compromise, there is a compliment.” – Paul Robear**

* * *

From the moment Pepper stepped in the hospital lobby, she started to wonder if she was trapped in a horrible nightmare. The social worker that had called her was waiting for them and pulled them aside to a private conference room immediately. 

Gripping Tony’s hand tightly, she took a deep breath in an attempt to quell the tears at the sight of the folder labeled Rosalind Hernandez. Looking to the woman that held all the answers, she asked, “Where is my niece?”

Angela felt the familiar heartbreak that came every time she had to deliver news like this, it never got easier no matter how many times she did it. Being a social worker was not an easy job, but having the opportunity to offer even the slightest comfort to families like this was worth it every time.

Giving the redhead her best assuring smile, Angela said, “She just went into surgery a half hour before I called you. I don’t have an estimate on when she’ll be out, I’m sorry to say she was in a bad state when the paramedics got to her.”

Feeling her shoulders begin to quiver, Tony wrapped an arm around Pepper, hoping that knowing he was there would help if only a little bit. 

Opening the file, Anglea hesitated a moment, “I won’t sugarcoat it for you, Rosalind is one of the many kids that fell through the cracks after the invasion. These images are very graphic, are you certain you want to see them?”

Pepper nodded silently.

Fully opening the file, she pushed it across the table towards the couple. Pictures CPS had taken along with police crime scene photos painted a grizzly picture that had Pepper choking back a sob, while Tony felt rage bubble in the pit of his stomach. While the girl in the photos bore no resemblance to Pepper at all, she was family and there was nothing in the world that made him as angry as his family being threatened. 

“EMT’s on the scene found her unconscious, massive blood loss with bruising and contusions on her back. It appears that she was pushed into a broken piece of wood and suffered severe spinal damage,” Angela said, watching them both carefully. 

Tony tensed at the mention of spinal damage, thinking immediately of Rhodey. 

“She has drop foot,” Pepper managed, unable to look up from the image of the bloody kitchen. “She walked...walks with braces.”

Continuing Angela said, “Yes, the ones she had appeared to be very old, one of the medics said it looked like they were too small but Rosalind had broken them to fit her. He didn’t think they were causing her pain.”

A slow tear rolled down Pepper’s cheek as she said, “They were blue with white spots, Charlie stayed up all night to paint them for her birthday.”

Giving the two a moment to process, she turned to the next page in the folder. 

“Another pressing concern was the large amount of heroin found in her bloodstream, no marks were found on her skin and there were no outward signs of drug abuse so police are assuming that whoever she was living with started forcing it on her recently. She wouldn’t say anything about it before surgery, but she did tell us that his name was Phillip, she had lived with him for the past ten years, and he was the one that injured her. We believe that he told her he was her foster parent and prevented her from ever contacting you, even after she reached adulthood.”

“Oh god,” Pepper said, feeling sick again at the thousands of horrible ideas of what her niece had lived through all this time. 

Tony slammed his fist on the table, startling Pepper. 

“I’m sorry,” he said, laying his hand flat on the table. “I just…”

Swallowing down the things he wanted to scream, Tony just pulled Pepper closer as he tried to stay calm. The reality that someone had done this and who knows what else to her shook him.

Eyes filled with sympathy, Anglea sighed, “Some people truly are monsters Mr. Stark,” turning to look at Pepper, she continued, “I am so sorry, there are no words for this and I wish there was better news than this. The police are looking for Phillip now and will let us know the moment they find something. We’re hoping to get more information from her once she’s out of surgery but she wasn’t very forthcoming with details.”

Shaking her head, Pepper whispered, “I should have looked for her, they told me she was...I shouldn’t have believed them.”

Gently, Tony turned her face to look at him as he said, “You had no way to know, no one did. This isn’t your fault.”

The softness with which he spoke to her warmed Angela’s heart as she watched them. Giving them a moment, she cleared her throat and said, “He’s right, this is unfortunately a failing of the system. If she were a minor then guardianship would go to you as no other family could be contacted but seeing as she is nineteen you have no legal obligat-”

Cutting her off, Pepper said, “She’s coming home with us, she’s family.”

Smiling at them, Angela said, “I had a feeling that would be the case, I’ll get you in touch with the officer investigating her case and we can go from there.”

After another thirty minutes of going over details, they were finally led to a new private room where a nurse told them they would be informed once Rosalind was out of surgery. The high profile nature of them both being there would have caused a media circus, so Tony made a note to express his gratitude that someone had the forethought to give them somewhere private to wait. A large donation to the hospital was more than in order.

Pepper had memorized the smallest details of the three photos of hot air balloons hanging on the walls, unable to allow herself to think of anything but the red and yellow patchwork patterns without crying. They had been here for the past four hours waiting, never leaving the room for longer than it took to go to the bathroom.

Lost in his own thoughts Tony had stayed mostly silent, letting her process everything. But he couldn’t stand seeing her beat herself up over it any longer.

“Honey, talk to me. You’re spiraling,” he said, a pang in his heart at the sight of her tear-stained face. 

“I let her down,” she said, voice barely audible as she looked up at him.

Shaking his head, he squeezed her hand. 

“No, that’s just not true. You would have torn the entire city down to find her if you knew, but you didn’t and that isn’t your fault.”

Sighing she said, “I want to believe that, but those pictures...ten years of that Tony. All this time she could have been with me, with us.” Eyes filling with tears again she went on, “She would have known you and grown up in a safe place, we would have been a family.”

Clasping her hand with both of his, Tony gave her a sad smile. 

“Will, we will be a family. I know this is rich coming from me, but Pep you can’t think about what if’s. It will eat you up inside and tear you apart until you can’t enjoy what’s right in front of you. I won’t lie, I have no idea how this will go but like you said, Rosalind is family. So that means we’ll figure it out like we always do, whatever you need me to do I’m here,” he said, bringing her hand to his face and gently kissing her knuckles. 

Giving him a watery smile she started to say something, but before she could the door opened and a kind looking older man walked in. 

“Ms. Potts, Mr. Stark,” he said, nodding at them both. “Miss Hernandez is in recovery and you can see her now.”

* * *

Blinking at the harsh white of the ceiling, Rosalind brought a hand to her face to block the light. Frowning at the pull on her hand, she noticed an IV taped to the top of her hand and then faintly she registered a soft beeping coming from somewhere beside her. 

“Hey there, how are you feeling?”

Looking to the side quickly, Rosalind found a concerned nurse watching her while she fiddled with one of the machines in the room. 

“I’m...I don’t know.”

Straining to move, she felt a slight pain in the middle of her back and then nothing below it. A cold pit formed in her stomach as the realization she couldn’t move either of her legs hit her. The events that had led to the 9-1-1 call rushed back and ever the realist, she looked back to the nurse with a sad but resigned expression. 

“I’m paralyzed aren’t I?”

The other questions she had been about to ask the nurse died on her lips as two people came in the room, one being distantly familiar to her. A face she’d seen splashed across the news and in papers, but also one that lived in some of the happier memories of before her mother had died. 

“Aunt Ginny,” she finally said, hardly able to believe she was here. 

Hearing her voice had Pepper abandoning Tony at the door as she rushed over to the side of the bed. Quickly sitting in the chair at her side, she reached for the hand that didn’t have the IV in it. 

“I’m here,” she said, gently squeezing her hand. 

Touching her made it all real, not just a dream. She was alive. 

“I didn’t know if you would come,” Roz said softly, watching her aunt’s hand on hers warily. “I told them to call you, but…”

Furrowing her brows in confusion, Pepper said, “There is nothing that could have stopped me from being here. When I got the call I couldn’t believe it, I almost still can’t.”

Watching them, Tony was careful not to draw Roz’s attention. He didn’t want to disrupt the moment, but it was clear to him something else was wrong. The way the girl was looking at Pepper wasn’t a thrilled to see you look, it was guarded and suspicious. Angela had warned them that this might not be the reunion they wanted, but Tony hated the thought of what the poor kid might have been told over the years. 

Fighting the urge to pull her hand away, Roz studied Pepper. She looked just the same if maybe a few more worry lines on her face, but her eyes looked different. So much more sad than she remembered, not bright and playful like the last time she’d seen her. Surprise colored her face as she watched a tear roll down her aunt’s face, that didn’t look at all like hatred or resentment. 

“Why are you crying,” Roz asked, almost afraid of the answer. 

Shocked at the question, Pepper quickly wiped her face. She had promised herself not to cry, not to make this about her and to focus on her niece. 

Voice thick with emotion she said, “Because you’re alive Rosalind. Because you’ve lived through god knows what all on your own. Because you are my neice, you’re family.”

All of the years of Phillip’s promises that Pepper hated her, resented her for living when her mother had died and never wanted to see her again started to ring hollow in Roz’s mind as she felt the sincerity in Pepper’s voice. But a sinister whisper in the depths of her mind reminded her that any hope of Pepper caring about her was nothing but a lie. 

Reaching forward carefully, Pepper touched her face. It was a conflicting thing, experiencing intense joy and grief at the same time. She was the spitting image of her mother, the same big brown eyes and frizzy chestnut hair that framed a freckled face. It was a bittersweet pang in her chest, seeing Charlie so clearly again after almost a decade of only pictures to remember her. 

“I’m crying because I’ve never thought I could be so happy, I thought I lost you both that day and my god...you’re here and I’m never letting you go again. I can’t imagine how abandoned you must have felt, if I had known you survived I promise you that I would have been there,” Pepper said, voice breaking. “I would have torn the world apart to find you and I’m so so sorry that I didn’t.” 

Cracks started to appear in everything Roz had ever believed, but even at hearing words she had only dreamed of the words of Phillip echoed in her head. 

Whispering she said, “You...you thought we both...He told me you never wanted to see me again, that you wished I had died and not her.”

Anger bubbled in Tony’s chest as he saw a little piece of his wife’s heart break even further at that. This bastard was going to suffer, he would rip the city apart if he had to to find him. This would not go unpunished, god only knows the abuse and lies this girl had endured. Reminding himself to keep his anger to himself and not ruin a moment, Tony simply clenched his fist as he leaned against the doorway watching them. 

Heart clenching at how many horrible things that man must have told her, Pepper shook her head and brought her hand back to rest on Roz’s. 

“He lied to you. I will spend the rest of my life missing my sister, but I would never trade you for her, I love you Rosalind. You’re a part of her, the part she was most proud of. Losing her…losing you,” she trailed off, eyes glassy as she thought of Charlie and the bright-eyed little girl that looked just like her. Blinking away more tears, she continued, “It was the worst day of my life. I’ve never stopped thinking about you and wishing I could have you back.”

Feeling a wetness on her face, Roz looked down at the grey ribbon on Pepper’s wrist, tracing it with her fingers. 

“I didn’t want to believe him, but when you never reached out I didn’t know what else to believe,” she said, glancing up at her aunt slowly. It was too easy to believe that after all this time that Pepper hadn’t felt those things. No matter how badly she wanted it, Roz just couldn’t fully believe that it was true. 

“Is...is just me enough? I’m not mom,” Roz said, trying desperately to make sense of what was real. 

Nodding, Pepper smiled sadly as she said, “You are more than enough sweetheart, I’m never going to ask you to be anything but you. You’re not a replacement Roz, you’re family.”

A decade’s worth of lies and isolation was just too much to fight. Seeing her aunt looking at her like that, like she mattered more than anything in the world broke something inside her as she started to cry. It was too much and more than anything Roz wished she could take Pepper’s words as truth but she couldn’t and that was just one more thing she hated about herself in this moment. 

Instantly, Pepper stood and leaned over to hug her as best she could without disturbing the wires or hurting her. Heavy wracking sobs that told a story they all wished hadn’t happened shook the girl as Pepper held her as tightly as she dared. 

Almost dazed, Tony felt a strange mix of bile and warmth in the back of his throat. People being monsters wasn’t a new concept for him, but imagining his little girl suffering like this one had made him want to find the nearest trash can and throw up. At the same time, he also couldn’t help but be so proud of Pepper, watching her comfort Roz. She was going to be such an amazing mom, he only hoped he could do better than his father when it came to being a dad. 

He wanted to be a dad, he was also terrified he wouldn’t be any good at it. And now his family was changing, faster than he had expected. What if Roz blamed him for keeping Pepper away from her and her mother? Or hated him for not saving her mom? There were so many reasons she could want nothing to do with him and it worried him. 

“Tony? Did you hear me?”

Shaken out of his spiraling thoughts, he saw Pepper motioning him over. 

“Ah, are you sure you want m—”

Cutting him off, Pepper looked back to Roz with a smile as she said, “I want you to meet my husband. This is Tony, Tony this is Rosalind.”

Giving a little wave, Tony walked closer as he said, “Hey kid, ah guess you already know who I am.”

Fighting the urge to frown as she shrunk back slightly, he gave her his best disarming smile as she watched him closely.

“The doctor thinks you’ve got a good shot to be out of here in about two weeks, how do you feel about coming and staying with us,” Pepper asked, a hopeful smile on her face.

Roz looked behind her aunt to Tony, one pair of brown eyes assessing and the other trying desperately to reassure. 

“Are you sure,” she asked, knowing that if she didn’t go with them that there was nowhere to go. And she would rather live on the streets than go back to where she had come. 

“Like Pep said, you’re family. That’s all that matters to me,” Tony said, squeezing one of Pepper’s shoulders as he grinned. “Besides, we have the best views in New York, you’re gonna love it.”

Watching him for a moment more Roz nodded, trying her best to hide the doubt and suspicion she had about it all. How was she supposed to trust them? Why now, after all this time?

Relief washed over him at the brilliant smile that appeared on his wife’s face as she glanced back at him. Nervous wasn’t something he often felt, anxious yes. Nervous? Not really. But this was big, everything was going to be different after today and he was going to do everything humanly possible to make sure this family had a chance. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, I hope you're liking it so far! I'm so excited to introduce Rosalind to you, I've got so much in store for her. I'm disabled so I've always wanted to include a disabled character, Roz is really special to me and I can't wait to hear more of what y'all think. This is a slow burn sort of story so be patient with me, I promise it'll be worth it in the end.
> 
> More with Peter coming up and then some great family moments with Pepper and Tony. Again, would love to get feedback on what you think, thanks so much for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! This story idea wouldn't leave me alone and I thought I would post the first chapter to see what y'all thought!
> 
> I'll try to keep this short but here are a few notes on what kind of story this will be.
> 
> Firstly, this is a Soulmate AU of my own design. I've never seen one that follows the rules I've set up so this will be a bit different than other AU's of this nature. I'm really excited about what this will allow me to do and would love to hear what you think about it. If you have questions about it feel free to ask and I will get back to you.
> 
> Second, this is a fixit fic and will NOT follow Endgame cannon, I have a lot of thoughts about how that went and have decided to do my own thing instead. The snap did not happen therefore ages of certain characters will be older. The timeline will become more clear and I am happy to answer any questions about it.
> 
> Lastly, I have almost completely outlined this fic. So I know all the plot arcs, twists, and most importantly the ending! I am in the early stages of writing it but I wanted to throw it out here to motivate myself to work on it and to get a read on what you guys thought of it. This is a new style of writing I'm trying out as well as a deeper and darker storyline. I will do my best to put any trigger warnings as they come along but for the most part, I try to keep things T rated aside from possible language that will come up.
> 
> To keep this from getting super long, I really hope you guys like this and look forward to sharing this story with you. It has a special spot in my heart already and I can't wait to get it all out there! I'm a long time Fanfiction.net poster but I'm trying to make the switch over here, so I'm still learning the ropes. Look forward to finding a community on here and I hope you enjoy Fractured!


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